The Given Name Emma

Introduced to Britain by the Normans, the name Emma originated as a short form of compound names that contained the element erm(en), irm(en), meaning "entire, whole".

It is sometimes used as a nickname for Emily, but this is not etymologically justified.

Emma of Normandy was the wife of both king Etheired II and king Canute as well as mother to Edward the Confessor.

The name became popular in England and saw a resurgence of popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Emma is also a favorite of poets and authors, and was the name of a lead character in the 1960s TV serial The Avengers.

Emma Lazarus was an American poet and writer most known for her sonnet "The New Colossus," which is inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

She was also an impassioned spokeswoman for Judaism writing many essays and poems on the subject of the persecution of the Jews of Europe and working tirelessly to organize relief efforts. An important forerunner of the Zionist movement, she argued for the creation of a Jewish homeland thirteen years before Herzl gave it a name, Zionism.